| Healthy Blood Vessels May Prevent Fat Growth |
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INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- The cells lining blood vessels are known to be important for maintaining health, but researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine believe these cells may perform an unsuspected task - controlling the development of fat cells. Their findings are reported in the September issue of the journal Stem Cells. The researchers found that precursor or stem cells have a markedly reduced tendency to develop into fat cells when placed in direct contact with healthy endothelial cells, which are the cells that line blood vessels. "The key to this discovery was our recent observation that these cells, also known as adipose stromal cells, in fat tissue are in very close contact with endothelial cells in small blood vessels and capillaries," said Keith L. March, M.D., Ph.D., co-principal investigator of the study and director of the Indiana Center for Vascular Biology and Medicine (ICVBM). |
